Photo Booth

I have a small obsession with Photo Booth. Especially when Dustin hooked it up to a camera that we could use as a video monitor in Molly's room. I was looking at some of the pictures we have taken since Dustin got his Mac and I thought I would share a select few...

Look how little Brookie looks!



Two headed Brookie!

HAHA!


Brought the Mac to the beach ;)

My album cover

Dustin's mouth look like a sphincter...

Make note that I am hiding under the covers in the back

And a happy Molly...

I Heart Faces | Innocent Wonder

I have a few friends who do I Heart Faces photo challenges and I have been wanting to do one for awhile. I love to take pictures, photography is probably my biggest hobby. This weeks challenge is "Innocent Wonder". I knew immediately which photo I would use. The moment that Brooke met Molly. I hadn't really thought about how this moment might go but I was so proud of Brooke. She climbed right up onto the bed next to me and asked for "baby". I love this photo and how it captures Brooke looking down on her little sister, trying to decide what to make of her. Needless to say, she was quickly enamored and has been in love ever since.

Young Adult Literature

So I have this goal to write a Young Adult novel before I turn 30. Whether it will happen or not, who knows, but I still want to try it. Anyway, I have read maybe ten YA novels this year alone [24 days in] and I can't even count the number I read last year. Here is what I have learned...

one. You need a tall, dark, and extremely handsome hero. Bonus points if he is immortal in some way.

two. The lead female must be weak, play hard to get with the hero at first but then fall for him, be overly plain looking and somewhat clingy.

three. The lead female must have a group of friends she grows apart from for the hero.

four. The hero has no friends.

five. The lead female needs to constantly compare herself to the hero, making sure to state on numerous occasions how she doesn't deserve him.

six. The hero must have a dark past, something he shares with his love to make himself seem lesser.

seven. The lead female needs to almost die at least twice. Bonus points if she does die and he brings her back to life.

eight. There needs to be at least three books in the series and each one must include some sort of strong force getting in the way of this couple.

nine. Most of the happenings cannot make sense, because this is a fantasy world remember.

ten. The laws of science don't apply.



Good. Now I can get started.

A long overdue playdate....

Yesterday we had a play date with a friend from my online forum. She lives in Michigan and we have wanted to get together for awhile now, we just haven't made it happen. Her son, Cameron, and Brooke are the same age and her daughter, Hannah, and Molly are the same age. The kids had a great time together and it was fun to finally meet Alyssa in person. Hopefully there will be more play dates to come.

Brooke likes to dress in style for play dates



Eating lunch











A semi-hug






Hannah and Molly in their matching outfits

Happy 7 Months Molly!

Molly turned 7 months on Saturday! I am not sure how much she weighs or how tall she is, but I'll get around to measuring her soon. She is wearing 6 months clothes and I think she is getting really close to breaking into the 9 month jammies. She is very content to sit on the floor and play with her toys all day long but it seems that as soon as dinner time rolls around, she wants to be held until bed time.

She likes to roll around the room to get places and seems to have no interest in crawling any time soon. She doesn't even get up on all fours yet, but that is just fine by me!

She babbles a lot, saying "Dadada" "Mamama" "Bababa" "Papapa."

She has had solids a few times since turning 6 months but she really doesn't get it so we haven't been adamant about giving them to her. It is amazing how lazy you can become with the second child!

She sleeps like a champ. When it is time for a nap or bed time all you have to do it lay her down and turn on her sea horse. She doesn't take a paci or suck her thumb, which will make our lives easier in the future.

Molly is such a joy and I love her sweet smiles. I could kiss her cheeks all day long. I think she is one of my favorite ages and Dustin and I are excited to watch her grow and develop.

Book Review

My love for reading started young. I would sneak into the light of my night light to read well past bed time and in the morning my mom would find me asleep with my book over my face. I truly picked up the habit from watching her. She would curl up on the couch each night with a book and just sit and read. I have been hooked ever since. And Dustin can attest the fact that I read fast. Just yesterday I started a book right before he got home from work and I was finished before bed. I try to pace myself but I cannot seem to stop once I get drawn in.

The point is that if you are a fellow reader like me, or are just interested in picking up a book sometime soon, I have a recommendation for you. The Hunger Games. Now, if someone had not pointed me in the direction of these books and told me how amazing they are I never would have bought them. In fact, the first time I picked it up off the shelf and read the back cover, I immediately put it back and walked away. After more coaxing from friends I finally gave it a try. And I was a convert. In fact, I have already re-read the series.

Let me give you the back cover excerpt...

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by the twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV..."

Kids fighting to the death. Still with me? Good.

"Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-- and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."

Trust me. The first time I read the back cover all I could think was, "Post-apocalyptic book of children fighting to the death. Riiiight." But when I gave it a second chance I was immediately surprised by how much I fell for the book. The characters. The story. And I can promise [well, I can try] that if you give it a chance, you will love it to.

In fact, you will probably move right on to the second book, and then the third, and final book immediately following.

The Hunger Games.
Catching Fire.
Mockingjay.


Just read them. Friends are constantly asking me for book recommendations since I can often be found with my nose shoved in one. I can actually give you a whole list of books to read, and a list of books NOT to read. But still give them all a chance. In fact, I have a growing collection in the basement to fill my dream library one day.

What I am doing...

Someone asked me in a previous entry what I am doing to lose the weight. Well, that is a great question! So far I have been watching what I eat, which includes no chocolate/candy/dessert [I tend to cheat on the weekends though], drinking more water, and no eating after 6pm if I can help it. I am also doing the Turbo Jam Beach Body work out and it has been fun so far. A friend of mine sent me the program to borrow and it even has a little book that tells you what days to do which DVD for a great mix of work outs.

I have set of a few rules though...

1. I won't let working out get in the way of other activities. I think working out is very important, but I remember how easy it is to get caught up in it. In college I worked out almost every day, sometimes twice, and I loved the rush. I couldn't wait to get to the gym before breakfast or after class. But I also missed a lot of activities or time with friends because I was always wanting to work out.

2. It is okay to miss a work out. This goes along with #1. I used to panic if I missed a work out. But in truth, missing a work out or two isn't going to cause you to magically gain 10lbs and lose muscle tone. I don't want to be the person late to events or canceling plans because I need to fit a work out in. It isn't worth it.

3. Have fun, don't feel the pressure. I want to have fun working out. I don't want to wake up and turn on my video only to feel like, "Why am I not losing weight yet?" "Why don't my legs look better?" "Why don't my abs look better?" etc. It all comes with time and just working out improves your health.

This morning I woke up at 7:30am and did my work out. I feel great!

Sweet Potatoes

I wanted to write this blog post sooner but I have been nursing a cold. I couldn't seem to shake it for awhile but I decided to stall the working out and not run too many errands, and it disappeared! On Sunday we tried to give Molly some pureed sweet potatoes. Needless to say, she wasn't impressed.

At first she was excited...

Then she was unsure...



Yepp, definitely unsure...



Make her try some...



SEE! She hates it too...



"THIS IS HORRIBLE!"



Don't make me eat anymore...



I'm over this!!



All done? Okay, I can be happy again.

WE GO AGAIN

A McFatty Monday of sorts.

I am starting back up with my weight loss goal. I want to lose 15-20 pounds by summer. This is less "New Years resolution" and more "Holy crap, I need to be a bathing suit this summer." We are headed to North Carolina for a week in August and I would like to be proud to be seen in a bathing suit. Not spending my week in a cover-up. I started Chalene's Turbo Jam this morning and I am hoping to see good results by the end of the first month.

So if you remember THIS post, I was just starting up. Since then I have lost about 8-9 pounds but have been maintaining that for awhile.

The beginning

5 pounds down





8 pounds down





So, here is to 10 more pounds by Spring!

Christmas 2010

Took me long enough to write this post! Christmas was a whirlwind! We did our own little Christmas morning on Christmas Eve, since the girls had no idea what was going on. We had to wake Molly up though and as you can tell, she was sleepy.

Christmas morning we spent with Dustin's family and had a blast opening presents and hanging out.

We also had a Christmas celebration when my parents came into town on the 28th.

We also got to celebrate our anniversary.

Then finally we had a New Years Eve party/present exchange with our good friends and their two little kids.

All in all we had a great Christmas and the girls had a wonderful time.